Ronnie grabbed Will's hand squeezing it with all her might as the next contraction hit her. The excruciating pain had started twelve hours ago and had been gripping her relentlessly. Trying to keep herself calm she took a deep shuddering breath, held it, and released all of her energy out.

"Okay Ronnie, I need you to give me two more good pushes," her doctor said while huddled down near her feet. It felt odd to be so exposed but her mind was on getting the baby out as fast as she could.

Her latest contraction faded causing her to fall back against the bed. "I'm so tired," she moaned feeling as if she hadn't slept in a week. Her muscles had become Jell-O that she was making work by pure will. Her breathing was coming out in quick puffs as if she had run a marathon.

"You got this baby," Will cheered her on while rubbing the sweat and hair off her forehead. He had been standing diligently by her side since he drove her to the hospital. She almost laughed thinking that his hand should be broken with how often she had grabbed it and squeezed. He picked up the oxygen mask and placed it over her mouth. The longer her labor had dragged on the harder it had been for her to breathe.

"One more time Ronnie," her doctor instructed.

Ronnie bore down trying with all her might to push her baby out of her body. "Are we done yet," she joked causing the room to break out in laughter.

"Almost," the nurse answered.

When directed she bore down for the last time and felt her child slip from her body. Immediately the room was filled with wails that could pierce the ears but to Ronnie it was heavenly music. She had done it.

Her baby girl was laid on her stomach while they hastily cleaned her up and directed Will to cutting the umbilical cord. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two most cherished people in her life. One of them was standing beside the bed looking down on them while the other was cuddled to her.

Taking the seat beside the bed, Will placed his forehead against hers. "She's so beautiful."

"She looks just like her daddy," Ronnie responded. She looked down on the newest member of the family who had gotten over the shock of being in the world and was quietly resting from their ordeal.

"What should we call her," he asked before placing a gentle kiss on their daughter's head.

"How about Lily?"

"I like Lily." Will smiled down at her for a moment before dropping a kiss on her forehead. The love shining down from his eyes brought tears to Ronnie's.

Hours later Will sat beside Ronnie's bed watching her sleep. She had been through a lot that day. In total she had been in labor for twelve and a half hours. He didn't know how she had been able to do it but she had brought their daughter Lily Jolene Blaklee into the world with all her perfect fingers and toes. He had counted twice to make sure.

Will ran his hand down his face feeling the weight of the day bearing down on him. His face hadn't been shaved and the stubble poked at his hand. Megan had asked if he wanted to go home and clean up while she stuck around with Ronnie but he had refused. He couldn't seem to leave her side. After Ronnie had gotten some rest they would be sending her home anyways.

There was a soft knock on the door and Will groaned hoping that it wasn't one of the nurses to wake Ronnie up again. It seemed as if they didn't realize she needed her sleep.

"Will," he heard a familiar voice call to him. Annie peeked around the curtain. "How is it going daddy?"

Will smiled wearing the title with pride. He placed his finger over his lips and pointed towards the bed where Ronnie was still fast asleep. Annie nodded and followed him out of the room and into the hallway.

Instantly her arms were around him and he enjoyed the way she instinctively knew what he needed.

"It's a girl," he announced into her hair. They rocked in each other's arms before turning to walk down the hallway.

"I know I saw her. She's so perfect. Every time I come to work lately I've been checking to see if Ronnie was here. I figured it would be any day now."

"I can't believe she is finally here," Will glanced down at his watch hoping it wasn't too late and the cafeteria would still be open. The hands read back two in the morning. "Oh my gosh, I didn't know how late it was. Are you on duty?"

"No, I got off hours ago. I was just hoping to talk to you. I wanted to see how everything went."

"It went fine. I'm ashamed to say I'm glad it wasn't me who had to do it. If labor hurts more than what she did to my arm, I'm lucky to be on this side of it," he joked.

Annie nervously giggled beside him. "Then you better hope you don't have kidney stones. They say it's the equivalent of labor."

"I've got my fingers crossed," he added crossing his fingers for emphasis. "I better go. I want someone there when Ronnie wakes up."

He turned to leave but Annie grabbed his arm. "Goodbye Will."

Will's stomach knotted. He wasn't sure why but he felt like this was the last time he would see her. "Goodbye Annie," he dropped a kiss on her lips. "I'll call you later."

She nodded but Will still had the distinct feeling that this would be the last conversation they had; which left him feeling empty and drained. With a final glance he took her in. There was so much he wanted to say to her like how she had changed his world. Things had been dark for him when Ronnie left but with her around the world shined brighter.

He finally had the answer to Megan's question. Annie was not the one.

Will guided his BMW into the driveway pulling up alongside Ronnie's Bug. He had been out for the past two hours trying to grocery shop. Most of it wasn't a problem but when he had reached the baby aisle he had felt overwhelmed. How could someone so little need so much stuff? In the end he grabbed a little of everything and some things he was pretty sure she wouldn't need for a year of so. Either way he wanted to be on the safe side.

One by one he grabbed the grocery sacks his sister had insisted he purchase so that he was "green." Why he couldn't just use the plastic bags was beyond him but he didn't want to get into that argument with her.

He made his way to the door slowly hoping to carry all the bags at once and not have to make multiple trips. Sticking out of the door before him he noticed a pink envelope that had his name written in neat print. The door opened and Ronnie stood on the other side.

"I thought you could use a hand," she smiled at him.

He nodded but kept moving towards the kitchen where he dropped the bags unceremoniously in a heap. "I really hope I grabbed everything you asked because I am not going back."

"I'm sure you did fine," she answered starting to rummage through the bounty. She grabbed the peanut butter and celery to put away. "There is a letter for you. I can put this away if you want some time alone."

Will grabbed the envelope recognizing Annie's handwriting. Opening the back door he strolled out to the porch and took a seat.

Dear Will,

There is so much I want to say to you but the first is, thank you. Thank you, for being a gentleman and treating me as if I was the most precious thing in the world to you. When I am finally ready to settle down and get married I will know the kind of man I am looking for.

I hope you don't think I am running away because I'm not. I just finally opened my eyes to the truth. No matter how close we got your one and only true love would have been in the way. I believe with my whole heart that when you took your vows with her you meant every word and no divorce was going to stand in your way. You are and will always be who you are and that is someone who fights for what he believes in.

While I was on vacation I kept thinking back to that moment in your mother's kitchen when you were talking to Ronnie about taking care of herself. There was so much love in everything you said that I should have known then what was going to happen. It was not as if you hid your feelings well. As you watched her walk away I saw the longing you had to call her back and if you had things may not have gotten this far.

I don't want you to think that I blame you because my hands are not clean either. I have had ample opportunity to rectify our situation but instead I chose to ignore it hoping that you could choose me. But as I stood in the nursery looking down at your beautiful baby girl I knew that I couldn't continue this charade. There was another life to consider.

Something you don't know about me is that I have always wanted to set out on my own. I have relied on my parent's support and I want to see if I can make it on my own. That is why I applied for a job in Texas while I was visiting.

Despite what you may think, I will cherish the time we had together. The first week we spent together was some of the best times of my life. But I'm still young and hopefully there will be many more that will top it. I guess that is what I want to end with. The whole thing can be boiled down to the fact that we are just different people heading down completely different roads. I have yet to find the love of my life while you have been lucky enough to find the one person who completes you.

I feel no ill will towards you or Ronnie. If anything I feel sorry for the fact that you had to go through losing a child. Hopefully your new bundle of joy will bring repair and renewing to your relationship.

Love always,

Annie

Will glanced up to see Ronnie standing in the kitchen. Lily was cradled in her arms and she was smiling down at their newborn. It was a moment he never thought he would see. After losing Emma and the divorce he assumed that he would move on and maybe with Annie. But this was also an opportunity he wasn't going to let pass him by.

He wished he could take back the hurt he had undoubtedly caused Annie but she was strong and he knew she would get through it. If anything they had each given each other a gift by the time they had spent together.

Now it was time to take back his family.

With that thought in mind Will placed the letter back in the envelope and closed it placing the past in exactly the place it belonged, in the past.

I hope you enjoyed this new installment as much as I enjoyed writing it. After days of not knowing where I was going the ending just came to me and I am happy to say that the next chapter will be the last. There are a few loose ends I would still like to clean up and I will be giving a look into their future so stay tuned. You won't regret it!

Also, I would love it if you would leave me a comment…please!